CHENNAI: Starved as the city’s hockey faithfuls are of quality action — the emotional connect though is waning — they would welcome with glee the World Series Hockey, which would roll on at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from Tuesday. Irrespective of the feuds and factions that has marred the sport in the country, they would be enthused by the prospect of a month-long league that flaunts some of the inarguable greats of the game.
For nearly half a decade, since the Test series against Belgium and preceded by the Asia Cup, the city hasn’t witnessed any tournament of significance, barring the prestigious national-level MCC Murugappa Cup and other miscellaneous tournaments mostly featuring local clubs. Hence, the WSH would have a restorative effect on the city’s slumberous hockey scene.
Rest assured that the home side Chennai Cheetahs, with a leaping panther as its insignia, would receive thunderous home support as they play three matches here in five days. The fixtures are crucial in that it would enable them strike a momentum or vice-versa. But they would have little time to get acclimatized with conditions as they arrive in Chennai only on the morning of the match after their late-night encounter with Delhi Wizards in Delhi. But fortunately they meet one of the lesser teams in the grid, Mumbai Marines, weakened by the absence of national players such as SV Sunil and Yuvraj Walmiki. Besides, they would be on a low after conceding two of their first three matches and are pitted seventh on the table.
At least on paper, the Cheetahs seem a better-equipped side with a clutch of attack-minded players such as skipper Brent Livermore, Adam Sinclair, Joseph Reardon and Vikram Pillay. Both Sinclair and Reardon have linked well upfront while Pillay and Livermore — both with enormous international experience — lend verve to the midfield. They have abundant striking options in Australian Peter Kelly, German Benedikt Sperling and Dutch Roderik Huber, apart from national discards Sinclair, Sandeep Antil and Hamza Mujtaba. Not to mention Imran Warsi, who demonstrated his worth with a hat-trick of drag-flicks in their 5-3 drubbing of Chandigarh Comets. Coach Jose Brasa, too, reckons him the linchpin if Cheetahs are to make an impression in the league. “At the moment Warsi is one of the best drag flickers around and I am sure he will be on par with (Sohail) Abbas one day,” he opined.
Brasa has at his disposal another flicker of merit in Dhananjay Mahadhik, but having conceded eight goals in two matches, defence has been their undoing. This is something the Marines would hope to exploit, and taking them lightly would imperil the home side’s title ambitions.
